This invention relates to a door lock device for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a door lock device for a vehicle, which prevents rattling of the door when the door is closed.
Japanese Patent Publication Sho No. 58-13711 discloses a door lock device for a vehicle, which prevents rattling of a door in a closed state. Sho No. 58-13711 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. A door B is hinged by two, i.e., upper and lower, hinges C to a vehicle body A, and it is held in a closed state by the lock device D. The lock device D consists of a striker F secured to the vehicle body A and lock body J secured to the door B. The striker F has a wedge-like end, and the lock body J has a striker advancement groove E having a shape conforming to the shape of the striker F. Holding pieces I are each provided on each, i.e., upper or lower, side of the advancement groove E. When the striker F advances into the advancement groove E, the holding pieces I are brought into contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the striker F to hold the striker F elastically in the downward and upward directions.
With this structure, when the door B experiences external force in the direction of arrows X and/or Y, the movement of the door B is prevented by the elasticity of the holding pieces I.
With the above well-known structure, however, the holding pieces I are not moved in the direction of the advancement but is moved only in the vertical directions, and also they elastically hold the striker F. Therefore, the external force applied to the striker F in the direction of arrows X and/or Y surpasses the holding force of the holding pieces I, the door B is moved in the direction of arrows X or Y. If the elastic force of the holding pieces I is increased, the increased resistance of the rotation of the door B when the striker F is advanced into the groove E, deteriorates the feeling of closing the door B.
To provide for satisfactory feeling, it is desired to reduce the rotational resistance of the door B until the lock body J becomes fully latched and provide strong resistance when the lock body is fully latched, thus reducing the overrun of the door B beyond the fully latched position.